Evan McMullin is maybe the darkest of the dark horses in this presidential race. He’s 40 years old, he’s a former CIA operative and he is running under no party’s banner.

McMullin has attracted a lot of attention in the last month because there’s a small chance he could be the first third-party candidate to win a state — Utah, in this case — and that could lead to some interesting if very unlikely results, such as a deadlocked race and a President McMullin.

Before all that can happen, though, he’s trying to build support in the Mountain West, which he hopes can be the base of a new conservatism. His most recent stop: Denver, where he sat for an interview with 9News and Kyle Clark.

“There are people who will still stand on principle. We will not go along with the Republicans if they’re going to become a populist, white nationalist or white supremacist party,” the candidate told Clark.

“Principled constitutional conservatives are just not going to go along with that.”

In other words, McMullin is using this presidential run to frame himself as a leader of “true” conservatism, hoping to refocus the party on smaller federal government rather than nationalism.

Author: Andrew Kenney

Andrew Kenney writes about public spaces, Denver phenomena and whatever else. He previously worked for six years as a reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. His most prized possession is his collection of bizarre voicemail. Leave him one at 303-502-2803, or email akenney@denverite.com. View all posts by Andrew Kenney